THE GLASS CASTLE

R, 122 minutes. Through tonight only at Waterford. “Girls Trip” proves to be the heir apparent to “Bridesmaids,” a film about female friendship that nails the comedy, the boldness and the heart. There’s no need for high concepts or outlandish premises here; all that’s necessary is four longtime best friends and a city built for sin. — Katie Walsh, Tribune Content Agency PG-13, 127 minutes. Starts Friday at Madison Arts Cinema. Still playing at Niantic, Mystic Luxury Cinemas, Westbrook, Lisbon. No standard horror film delivers as many battles with demons, showdowns with the unknown and confrontations with emotional and physical struggles as the family drama “The Glass Castle.” The film, based on Jeannette Walls’ memoir about her life growing up with an alcoholic father, Rex (Woody Harrelson), and out-of-touch mother, Rose Mary (Naomi Watts), puts the four children in the Walls family in proximity to an evil that is deeply rooted in reality. That’s why the film from director-writer Destin Daniel Cretton is such a strong story of the power of the human will, the strength that comes from family and the endless protection from human evil provided by hope. — Rick Bentley, Tribune News Service

THE HITMAN’S BODYGUARD

H1/2 R, 118 minutes. Niantic, Stonington, Waterford, Lisbon, Westbrook. If you’re feeling nostalgic for a 1990s-style buddy action comedy with some early 2000s edge, “The Hitman’s Bodyguard” is the film for you. Recycling vintage character types, tropes and even politics, “The Hitman’s Bodyguard” already feels like you’re half-watching it on TNT on a Saturday afternoon. Directed by “The Expendables 3” director Patrick Hughes, the script by Tom O’Connor could have been written in 2005 and never updated, as a ripoff Tarantino that thinks swearing stands in for wit, with the kind of casual sexism and objectification of women that movies got away with before we all got sick of it. But this is a film that lives and dies on its stars, and Samuel L. Jackson, as the hitman, and Ryan Reynolds, as the bodyguard, working within their

1/2 PG-13, 90 minutes. Through tonight only at Mystic Luxury Cinemas, Madison Art Cinemas. Though the actions of former Vice President Al Gore, the tireless happy warrior of the climate-crisis movement, are once again front and center, new directors have come on board for the sequel and brought a different creative tack with them. In charge this time are Bonni Cohen and Jon Shenk, whose credits include a previous climate documentary, 2011’s “The Island President,” about the battles of Mohamed Nasheed, the leader of the Maldives, to keep his political career afloat and his nation from washing away. — Kenneth Turan. Los Angeles Times

KIDNAP

R, 82 min. Through tonight only at Waterford, Stonington, Lisbon. Halle Berry stars as a woman who pushes her minivan — and her psyche — to the limit while retrieving her young son from abductors in the scanty thriller “Kidnap,” directed by Luis Prieto, written by Knate Lee. There’s not much more to it than that — this mom is fast, and is she ever furious. This road-bound thriller takes place on the highways and byways of Louisiana, as Carla (Berry) goes in hot pursuit of a pair of kidnappers, straight out of a John Waters movie. They’ve snatched her son out from under her nose at the local fair. — Katie Walsh, Tribune News Service

LOGAN LUCKY

PG-13, 119 minutes. Niantic, Stonington, Waterford, Lisbon, Westbrook. The trailer for “Logan Lucky,” the new film from Steven Soderbergh, his first after his short-lived retirement, announces that it’s from the director of “Ocean’s 11, 12, 13,” and “Magic Mike.” None of his many other films are needed to position “Logan Lucky” for audiences. This is Soderbergh at his most fun, working in slick heist caper mode, featuring his muse of the moment, Channing Tatum. Since Tatum’s physical talents are the inspiration for “Magic Mike,” it’s ironic that Soderbergh has saddled his character, Jimmy Logan, with a bum knee, an injury that killed his NFL dreams and continues to impede his job prospects. Tatum portrays a charming lunkhead type, and uses his comedic talent to power this light-hearted crime comedy. — Katie Walsh, Tribune Content Agency PG, 91 minutes. Through tonight only at Niantic. Still playing at Waterford, Stonington, Westbrook, Lisbon. You never know where you’re going to find the most radical ideas. Somehow, a sub-par animated film sequel intended to quiet the kids for a few hours on a weekend afternoon burns with a proletarian rage. You’d never expect that from “The Nut Job 2: Nutty By Nature,” but somehow, it’s true. — Katie Walsh, Tribune News Service

SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING

PG-13, 133 minutes. Stonington, Waterford, Westbrook, Lisbon. Few movies have as much riding on them as “Spider-Man: Homecoming.” After a long custody battle over the Marvel family — Sony got Spidey while Disney got nearly everyone else — “Spider-Man: Homecoming” must not only restore its hero to his rightful place in the Avengers’ universe, but win over audiences still soured by a fizzled reboot just a few years ago. Good news: “Spider-Man: Homecoming” admirably rises to the occasion. — Rafer Guzmán, Newsday

WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES

PG, 140 minutes. Through tonight only at Lisbon and Westbrook. Still at Waterford and Stonington. The recent prequels to the “Planet of the Apes” have created a core of solidly grounded realism in a spectacular fantasy world. It all reaches a breathtaking climax in “War for the Planet of the Apes.” Visually, the film is gorgeous, with complex but clearly presented battles and utterly lifelike computer-generated anthropoids perfectly meshed with on-camera performers. — Colin Covert, Minn. Star-Tribune